Iran detains teenage girl for posting dance videos on Instagram

Hojabri had posted about 300 videos to her almost 600,000 followers, many that showed her dancing, sometimes in mid-riff baring tops and tight jeans, without a hijab, which is required in public.

Her videos appears on various Instagram accounts attributed to her, however none have been verified.

Following her arrest, Hojbari was reportedly broadcast on Iranian state TV on Friday, "confessing" to acting immorally and saying her only intention was to gain a larger following.

In 2014, six Iranians, three men and three unveiled women, received suspended sentences of one year imprisonment and 91 lashes for a video that showed them dancing on Tehran's rooftops to Pharrell William's song "Happy". The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) condemns the Iranian authorities' arrest and inhumane treatment of 18-year-old Maedeh Hojabri. Though the original account was shut down, her videos were posted online by other accounts with several thousand followers each.

It was not known whether her public confession was made under duress or whether she was released as a result.

Several dead after train derails in Turkey
Over the past few years, Turkish cities have been building high-speed rail lines to replace the country's ageing network. Tekirdag governor Mehmet Ceyhan said the area where the derailment happened was muddy and hard to reach.

There has been widespread outcry over the arrest of Hojabri and the other detainees among Iranians in Iran and overseas, by artists, journalists, activists, politicians and thousands of ordinary citizens on social media.

In response to the arrest, some women took to social media to post videos of themselves dancing, in support of Hojabri, using the Iranian version of the hashtag #dancing_isn't_a_crime. Other individuals besides Hojabri also appear to have been detained on similar charges. Such departures from their mores feed into the agenda of hardline politicians battling the more moderate President Hassan Rouhani to limit access to social media platforms, which they see as corrupting society's morals and endangering national security.

The Iranian government has enforced strict rules involving dress codes and dancing in public.

This isn't the first time people have been arrested for dancing.

Hojabri had been dancing in a public forum, which is frowned upon in conservative Iranian circles, and doing so without the headscarf prescribed by Iran's clerical rulers.

Share

Related Articles

They eventually found a dry landing spot, where they waited for nine days before being found by two British divers. At the time Trump tweeted reports indicated that four to six of the boys had been rescued from the cave.

The tiny royal will be christened at The Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, London, where Prince George was christened in 2013. Prince William, Kate, Prince George , Princess Charlotte , and Prince Louis will appear together for the first time.

MARTIN: Who on the president's list is considered to face the toughest confirmation battle? Here are five facts about Kavanaugh. Court of appeals that ultimately ruled on an immigrant girl's right to have an abortion while she was in USA custody.

Divers held the boys close to bring them out, and each had to wear an oxygen mask to enable normal breathing, authorities said. Each round trip from the rescue camp to the rocky shelf where the group is trapped takes about 11 hours.

They were found on July 2, but because of the difficulty of their position in the cave, they can't be rescued yet. Ake, the boys' coach, wrote a letter to relatives, saying: "To my grandma, I'm ok, I'm fine".

England fans have been superb since day one and they're going to have to be louder than ever for the Croatia game. The bus company have even gone as far as printing "It's coming home" on tickets bought for travel.

Bieber reportedly popped the question with Baldwin on Saturday night while they were staying at a resort in the Bahamas . Justin's mother also made a comment on Twitter Saturday, writing, 'Love Love Love Love Love Love Love '.

The Duchess of Cambridge appeared to make a special gesture to involve her tragic mother-in-law in her grandson's christening. Guests were served slices of christening cake, which is a tier taken from The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake.

The Taliban released a statement praising an Afghan soldier for carrying out the attack, without taking credit for it themselves. The apparent insider attack came just over a year after three USA soldiers were killed in an attack by an Afghan soldier.

RAF 100 Flypast planes spotted over Surrey
Meetings with The President of Ireland, Michael Higgins, and with The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, are both planned. A total of 17 royals flanked the Queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the RAF celebrations.

Xiaomi's IPO flop: Shares fall in Hong Kong debut
Compared to Apple's initial public offering way back in 1980 , however, Xiaomi's IPO has not been a resounding success. The Xiaomi float adds to Hong Kong's $7 billion worth of new listings so far this year.

Barcelona set their sights on Eden Hazard
The two clubs reached a deal reportedly worth 112 million euros (about US$132 million). Both players pushing each other to become better than they otherwise could have been.

Wounded In South Africa Plane Crash
A spokesman for Martin's Air also said it did not know what had prompted the incident. A charter plane lays in a field in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday July 10, 2018.

Mercedes point finger at Ferrari's 'interesting tactics'
Despite Hamilton's drive back to second from last, Ferrari's double podium means it has opened up the lead in both championships. We need to position ourselves better so we're not exposed to the red cars, because who knows where they are going to be".

Ferdinand: Belgium the 'team to beat'
Belgium's frontline of Romelu Lukaku, De Bruyne and Eden Harzard posed a constant threat to the Brazilian backline. The other semifinal will be played on Wednesday between the winners of England-Sweden and Croatia-Russia.

Former UCLA basketball star found dead after police shootout
According to a police report , officers responded to calls there was a man toting a weapon around Honeycutt's Los Angeles home. After his time with the Bruins, Honeycutt spent two seasons in the National Basketball Association with the Sacramento Kings .